The Greater Good

Quick vignette that wandered into my head uninvited. I hope it isn't entirely terrible. Do vote and comment.

Thanks to my beta reader KatieTay.

* *

It was still mostly dark outside. The promise of daybreak teased the sky and the canopy of night frayed around the edges with the merest glimpse of the new day.

The couple curled up in the sheets kissed hungrily as dawn broke. There was an urgency in how she mashed her lips to his and let their tongues play together.

"It's almost morning, Viv."

"We have enough time," she reassured him, and kissed a trail down his cheek and chin. His somewhat unshaven face excited her. She liked the sandpaper feel of his stubble against her lips.

"C'mon, Mark. Don't make me beg for it," she wheedled.

"All right," he laughed, "But you have me at a disadvantage here."

"And what disadvantage is that?" she asked, kissing down his chest and letting her chin rest on his sternum while she looked up at him.

"I can't resist you. I never could."

Viv smiled and resumed planting kisses along Mark's chest. Her luscious lips continued pressing themselves on his pecs. She let the tip of her tongue drag across him in a long, unbroken lick before kissing her way back across the trail.

A low groan from Mark made her smile. Her kisses became more frequent and insistent, pulling at his skin. Finally, her mouth was inches away from his erection. She looked past the fleshy member to see his gaze firmly locked on hers.

"May I?" she asked wickedly. Mark could not nod fast enough before her lips engulfed his hardness. Her tongue played havoc on his shaft, sliding all the way from the balls to the tip in a slow, tortuous motion. She let the end of her tongue trace out a prominent vein before switching to grazing the flat of her tongue along the sensitive underside.

Mark threw his head back in delirious pleasure before his shaft found its way inside her mouth again. This time she pushed it in deeper into her mouth until her lips was at the base. She moved back and forth, bobbing on the cock and let the rough layer of tastebuds tease the most sensitive part of his cock.

He throbbed and pulsed in her mouth. She quickly pressed forward, taking all of him in and let every rope of cum he spewed flow down her throat. Her mouth remained fastened to his cock while he jerked and shook and emptied his entire load inside her.

Viv made her way up until she was snuggled beside him. Her dark hair cascaded around her face and down to her shoulders. Even when she had just woken up, she could look exquisite.

She looked at his face, painted by the hint of dawn creeping in through the window. The dark circles under his eyes and the sunken cheeks stared back at her. It took some effort to see the man who laughed at her sister's wedding all those years ago.

"What's wrong, Mark?"

His downcast expression did not change and he spoke in almost a whisper.

"You know what's wrong, Viv."

"I'll take your mind off that," she promised, and kissed him. Her hand snaked its way under the covers and grasped his flaccid member. She stroked him to semi-hardness while kissing his cheek and neck.

"Forget everything else. Just look at me."

Her hand guided his now-hard cock inside her. She had grown to love the fit. It filled her like a glove. Her hand firmly held his chin and kept it facing her intent gaze. It hurt her seeing the bright blue eyes looking unfocused at her.

"Look at me, Mark. I said look at me."

He sullenly refused even as she began rocking her hips to his.

"This may be the last time we're together in a long time. Do you want to remember it like this?"

She waited patiently as he slowly turned his gaze to hers.

"No."

Viv broke into a slight smile and kissed him tenderly. One hand wrapped around his neck and drew him into the kiss while her hips plunging rhythmically against his cock. Her velvety insides ensconced him firmly.

There was no rush or needless haste. She knew about his body - what he craved, where to touch him and she wanted to do everything she could to make him remember this morning. She was going to take it slow and make it perfect for Mark, like he yearned to make it perfect for her.

She felt his hands exploring her body was well. From the swell of her breasts to finally settling on the hardening nipples. He tweaked one between his thumb and forefinger, eliciting a surprised cry from her.

"Fuck me," came her breathless gasp. Mark rolled her over onto her back and began slamming his hips into her. She arched upwards to meet each downward thrust and gasped with pleasure when he pounded her lithe frame like a piston. Eddies of pleasure bloomed outwards from her sopping, engorged pussy and washed over her.

"Slower."

"Faster."

"Harder."

"Yes. Right there."

She felt Mark ram himself into her with increasing power and frequency until her words were reduced to an incoherent babble of syllables. Her arms wrapped around his body and her nails dug into his back. She closed her eyes, just as the orgasmic bliss washed over her in a torrent, and the starburst behind her eyelids was an riot of colour.

The explosion of feeling started at the pit of her stomach and burst outwards until it reached her extremities, leaving her temporarily unsteady. The room floated in her vision. He collapsed on her, having emptied his second load for the morning deep inside her pussy.

They lay in a sweaty tangle of limbs and flesh, breathing as one. Viv could not quite tell where she ended and he began. By now, a clear beam of light shone on the bed and made their sweaty bodies glisten.

"Let's stay like this, just a little longer."

She snuggled up to him tightly.

* *

A few minutes later, the two of them were in the kitchen. Mark busied himself getting some eggs and ham on toast and Viv went to the coffee-maker.

A deathly silence reigned in the kitchen. The only sounds were of the frying pan hissing and the coffee-maker belching out a warm brown liquid. He kept focussed on his task and laid out the eggs and ham on a plate before moving to the toaster.

"I've scheduled an Uber to pick me up soon. If you're going to say something, you might as well say it now."

Mark sighed heavily as he turned to face her and put the plates on the table.

"There's no point in me even trying to change your mind, is there?"

Viv took a sip of her coffee. She leaned against the countertop and shook the remnants of sleep off her face.

"We've been over this, Mark."

He looked at her as she tucked a stray curl of brown hair behind her ear. A beam of sunlight crept in through the window and painted half her face brighter than the other. Even though he had seen that face for over a decade, he was rendered speechless for a moment. The brown hair and hazel irises, the perfectly shaped features that had defied her years. Her effortless grace and elegance put women half her age to shame.

"Cat got your tongue?" she smirked.

"It's just..." his voice trailed off. It was the sheer finality of the moment. He didn't know what to say. All at once, it was two years ago and he was holding his wife's hand and she was reassuring him it was going to be okay.

Mark didn't believe it then and he couldn't believe it now.

"Don't," Viv said. "Don't make it harder than it has to be."

"No, Vivian Waterhouse."

She braced herself, knowing it was never a good sign when he used her full name.

"Why do you have to go?"

"I have to go because the International Criminal Court called me. Do you know how big a deal that is? This is the first time they've ever called someone outside the ICC to be a special prosecutor."

She drained the last of her coffee, put her cup aside, and sat down opposite Mark.

"Imagine that, they picked me out of all the candidates they could have. I can't say no that."

"You can and you know it. You don't want to. There's a difference."

"Not the binder again."

"Yes, the binder," he said, pointing to the heavy black folder on the coffee table. "Every law firm that has made you an offer that you've turned down. Nelson and Horowitz; Langley, Sawyer and Winthrop; Griffin, Markham and Wiley. GMW for crying out loud. With your track record, you could walk into the senior partnership of any law firm you want and you know it. All you have to do is name a price and they'll jump for it."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation again with you of all people."

They were briefly interrupted by the toaster chiming.

"How long have you known me?" she asked bluntly. "It's been almost fifteen years since we were in law school. Do you think I would have chosen being a prosecutor over being a defence attorney if I was in it for the money? I haven't changed."

"But that was then and this is now."

"So? If anything, I'm needed more now than I was then."

"How long will you be gone this time?"

"Months. Could be years really. It's just in the prep stage of the trial."

He reached out and grabbed her hand.

"I'm asking you to please reconsider. It's still not too late."

Viv clasped his hand in hers and gently kissed the back of his knuckles.

"I care for you deeply and nothing will ever change that, but I have to do this."

"If you won't stay for me, at least stay for Sam."

Viv looked down, unable to face him.

"The last two years have been so hard for him. After Carrie passed away, he cried all night for so many weeks. I used to go to bed alone, but he crawled in with me every night. His teachers said it was like someone switched all his vitality and happiness off. Do you know he just started making friends again? Look at me, Viv."

She refused to comply.

"You think you can waltz in and out of my life when you please, but you have to know I'm the one left picking up the pieces. I'm the one who has to tell Sam why Aunt Vivian went away."

"Don't do this, Mark. Please."

"No, Viv. You have to know why I'm trying so hard. It's not for me. I'm a big boy now. It's for Sam. He looks almost like he used to when you're around. He laughs at all you say to him. When he wakes up today, the first thing he's going to ask is where Aunt Vivian is and I have to see the look on his face when I have to answer it."

"I'm not Carrie. I'll never be Carrie. My sister was the single most loving individual I've ever known and I couldn't be her if I tried."

"Sam thinks you can. Isn't that enough?"

"You know what, Mark Halsey. That was low of you to bring Sam up today. I came prepared to say goodbye like adults but bringing my nephew into it is below the belt. You know I love him more than I can say. Do you also know that I took this offer because of Sam?"

Mark was caught off guard by her last sentence.

"General Omandi, the target of my prosecution, used child soldiers in his army. Children as young as nine, as old as Sam, were given machine guns and told to shoot or else the general would kill them and their parents. If they refused, they were shot and hanged from trees as a warning to others. I want to ask you one question and I want you to look at me when you answer it. Do you want Sam to grow up in a world where a person can do that and walk free? If you say yes, I will call up the ICC right now and decline their offer, but you're going to have to look me in the eye and say yes."

He looked at her and pursed his lips. Whatever his response was, it got caught halfway between his throat and mouth. The silence lingered between them and Vivian clasped his hand even more tightly.

"You might not see it now, but I'm doing this for Sam; and for the thousands like him who have died at the hands of that animal."

Mark still could not say anything. He nodded in unspoken agreement. Viv let go of his hand and brought her palm to his cheek.

"Let's be honest now. You lost your wife. I lost my sister. We both lost someone so important to us that we became desperate to fill her place in our lives. Fill the emptiness she left behind... and we found each other. This isn't a relationship, this is a holding pattern of shared grief and misery. We deserve better. That's what Carrie would have wanted."

Viv got up from her chair and walked over to the other side of the table. Her arms wrapped around Mark from behind.

"I miss the way Carrie made cupcakes. She always added a little lime zest at the end for a surprise," he said softly.

"I was having lunch with some of my old colleagues from the US Attorney's office last month when I got a reminder on my phone for Carrie's birthday. It took all my self control not to cry right there."

He smiled and put a palm on the arm she had wrapped around his neck. No one spoke for a few seconds.

"Go find someone else. You don't look good moping all the time. What about that girl you dated a few months ago? Delia... I think. I got a good vibe from her and she really seemed to connect with Sam. Why not try and get in touch with her again? She seemed smart and charming."

"She's not you," he replied.

"Trust me, that's a good thing. As hard as it is to admit."

"So this is it then," There was a long pause. Mark finally sighed. "I'm not putting Sam through this again. Today, he and I are going to have a talk. Father to son. I'm going to tell him that certain things cannot be the way he wants them to be, no matter how much he wants. I guess I'll need some convincing myself first."

"Remember, just because I can't be Carrie doesn't mean I can't be Aunt Vivian. Just wait till I get back. I'm going to spoil Sam rotten," she grinned. Mark got up and turned around to embrace her. Their lips locked in a tender kiss. It wasn't rushed like before, rather slow and studied. He was gentle and moved his tongue from side to side, savouring the intimacy of the moment.

"My Uber's downstairs. Can I wake Sam up to say goodbye?"

"Of course."

He busied himself with the dishes. The conversation replayed in his head, each time making more sense than the last. His heart burnt and hot tears welled in his eyes, but he felt lighter than he had in ages. The one thought above all that calmed him was that it was going to be okay. Now was not the time to fall apart again. He had a son depending on him.

"I couldn't say goodbye."

Mark turned around to see Vivian standing at the entrance to the kitchen. Most strikingly, twin trails of tears were visible under her eyes.

"Funny thing, really. I'm not afraid of going up against a genocidal dictator, but saying goodbye to a nine year old... that I'm unable to do."

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